HAVING recently secured their future, the Zurbarans are now to take to the rugby field.

Bishop Auckland Rugby Club has named its new third team after the paintings, which have hung in Auckland Castle, in the town, for more than 250 years and were at the centre of a heated campaign.

Feelings ran high when it was discovered that the artworks faced being auctioned by the Church Commissioners, who look after bishops’ houses for the Church of England.

A campaign was launched and at the start of the month, benefactor Jonathan Ruffer bought the paintings for £15m, ensuring they remained in the North-East.

The 13, 8ft high works were painted by Francisco de Zurbaran in the 1640s and depict Jacob and his 12 sons.

They were hung at the castle, which has been home to the bishops of Durham for more than 800 years, by Bishop Trevor in 1756 to show his support for migrant Jewish people and their battle for equal rights in 18th Century England.

The Zurbarans rugby team, which is sponsored by Toronto Electrical Servicing and Testing (Test), played their first home game on Saturday, but lost 42-28 to Yarm.

It the first time since 1994 that Bishop Auckland Rugby club, which has 65 senior players, has had enough players to form three teams.

Kevin Watson, from the club, said Saturday’s game was an extremely important event in their history.

The history of the club, which is based at West Mills Playing Field, by the River Wear, is inextricably linked to the Bishop of Durham and Auckland Castle.

The club was created by a group of Oxford and Cambridge ecclesiastical undergraduates, who lived at the Bishop’s Palace, in Auckland Castle, as they studied.

Their hobbies included rugby union and football, but when forced to choose only one sport, a flip of a coin meant they ditched rugby and Bishop Auckland Town Football Club was created.

The football team, which plays at a new stadium in Tindale, on the outskirts of the town, still wears the mixture of royal and sky blue that reflected the universities’ colours. The modern rugby club was formed in 1976.

Mr Watson said: “We have always had the Bishop of Durham’s Mitre as the club emblem, so it seems fitting when giving a name to any of the club’s teams, it must have a link to our beloved castle.”